Dairy Farming

There is no question but that one of the things that have eroded profitability in the dairy sector in recent years is the significant increase in production costs, and a large part of that increase has been driven by the increasing amount of regulation. To return to my speech, I do not look on the decline in dairy farmers as a positive restructuring of an industry in transition and I do not believe that we in this place should be neutral about the forces shaping this important industry. One positive thing that came out of our debate in 2005 was the formation of the all-party group on dairy farmers. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski), who is present, for taking a lead on that and, with the assistance of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, ensuring that there is a dedicated cross-party voice speaking up for the dairy sector in this place. When he is not authoring books on Colonel Gaddafi, my hon. Friend is being a powerful advocate on behalf of dairy farmers in his local area and across the UK. Last month, a consortium of farming organisations, including the National Farmers Union, Farmers For Action, NFU Scotland, NFU Wales, the Farmers Union of Wales, Dairy Farmers of Scotland and the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, wrote to me and the other officers of the all-party group to alert us to the very difficult year that the dairy industry went through in 2009. My request to Mr. Speaker for today's debate was in part a response to that sobering letter that we received just before Christmas. If we look back over the past five years, it is clear that the sector has been shaped by a number of events and trends. The volatile milk price hit healthy heights in 2007-08, but has since collapsed, leaving many farmers once again receiving a price for their milk that is well below their production costs and leaving them unable to plan investment in the new kit that they need to stay competitive. Bovine tuberculosis has continued its destructive spread through many dairy farming areas, decimating dairy herds in the process.